


RPM

by YoungSoon



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Sports, Competition, Far Future, Futuristic Track and Field, Help, M/M, Possible Relationships in the Future, Sports, idk how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 06:33:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19267765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoungSoon/pseuds/YoungSoon
Summary: A far future when the running sport has taken a completely different look. Just a look into one race where a mentor needs to race a protege. The outcome is not something one would expect.





	RPM

**Author's Note:**

> RPM - Revolutions per minute is the number of turns in one minute. It is a unit of rotational speed or the frequency of rotation around a fixed axis.  
> (inspired by [SF9 - RPM MV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thK4s81tEgU) and a late entry to #ficweek)

'5 minutes till start' flashes on all of the large screens surrounding the arena and the noise in the crowd gets louder. The same announcement echoes through the air as an artificial voice reads it out loud as it did with the one 10 minutes before. The last viewers seem to take their places for a race - three turns of 1minute rounds of whom can run the most revolutions per minute around the arena. After each minute a count of complete laps would be fixated and in three minutes the one with the most combined RPM would win. A sport that combined the old as time athletic competition of running with the mechanic enhancements of modern science. From the very simple RPM counters to extravagant outer muscle enhancers - it all had transformed the sport from its simple beginnings to where it was now.

ChangKyun takes a deep breath and steps over the metal starting blocks risen from the ground to take his place. All racers but one are in their spots on the track, standing in a row and taking up 5 lanes from 7, one meant for passing by and one for staying behind if the gear malfunctions. The gear malfunctioning is his worst fear - worse than losing the race, which he knew was a huge possibility of looking at his competition. One connection break could mean a metal rod going through his leg and ending his career in a blink of an eye. He shakes his head and looks around to distract himself - first at the rustling crowd and then at his competition.

On his right stands Kang Chanhee, who is the last track champion and is called a prodigy of the race, as is ChangKyun himself though he has no wins under his belt yet. On Chanhee's right is Baek Juho - a certified ace with above 6 wins to his name in many tracks. To add to the pressure on his right Juho is Chanhee's mentor and only the best of the best could become ones.

To ChangKyun's left one spot is still empty, while the further one is taken by Lee Howon. His results are inconsistent, as he seems to hit records alone but his gear malfunctioning several times has kept him from the top spot. Being in the middle (literally and figurately) of such big names of the track is a dream come true and a huge responsibility. At such high athlete level ChangKyun will run only for the 7th time.

"Are you ready, Kyunnie?" a voice to ChangKyun's left startles him as the only empty spot is filled by no one else but ChangKyun's mentor - Lee Hoseok. The man has 5 wins to his name and is regarded as the wild card of the track. He never runs in the same style as before, often switching his approach mid-race and goes as far as turning off his gear completely on the last meters or turning it on only after the first lap. He experiments, for some fans of the sport, too much but for some, he already is a legend exactly because of that.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready," ChangKyun replies and goes over his gear. He checks each connection and buckles on the enhancing leg-pieces strapped around his calves and knees, hugging the fabric-clad leg as a layer of outer skeleton and muscles. He tightens the straps on the vest and presses the launch button of the chest monitor - showing his heart rate, blood pressure, revolutions per minute (which were set at zero now) and time - two minutes till the start. The armpieces and gloves follow next - each buckle checked, the gloves with thin metal plates on the fingertips strapped around his wrists tightly. He glances to his right - Chanhee putting on his gloves, Juho turning his chest monitor on - and then to his left - Howon stretching for the last time while Hoseok looks completely relaxed and apart from fixing a few buckles doesn't even check his gear.

The man ChangKyun called a mentor slicks back his silver and blue hair, putting the matching set of lightly blue tinted glasses on and putting in the earpiece attached to them. He looks absolutely calm and composed and that annoys ChangKyun about him the most. In their talks at the training sessions, Hoseok has told him countless time how nervous he is before every race, but from the surface, no one could tell. However, ChangKyun believes stress could be seen on his own face from far away.

He pushes his own hair back and puts his purple-tinted glasses on. The very second his heart rate appears on the top left corner along with his blood pressure. His RPM appears on the top right corner along with the list of all runners, right now in the order of their lanes but as soon as the race would start it would change to the order from fastest to slowest. At the very thought of his name slipping somewhere in that list, his heartbeat goes up and he needs to breathe deeply to remain calm. A hand squeezes his shoulder and he turns to his left here a warm smile on his mentor's face greets him.

"Don't worry. Just run," Hoseok says and gives another light squeeze to ChangKyun's shoulder before letting go. As he pulls his hand away he puts on the glove he had taken off and bends down. His feet settle on the starting blocks, a click signifying they are locked in place until the start. His fingers rest at the very edge of the fluorescent green start line and only now ChangKyun sees that the other 3 runners have taken their spot as well.

'Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen...' the same artificial voice as before starts counting down as the numbers change on the large screens, the crowd starting to count along, and flash on ChangKyun's glasses. Quickly, he takes his spot, the starting blocks clicking. Even though he is now in a rush he does his best not to touch the start line as dangerously close as Hoseok in case his hand slips.

'Five, four, three, two...' the last second flash on the glasses as well as ring in the air and as the 1 disappears, the magnetic pressure on the boots is gone and the start line turns red ChangKyun starts running. He doesn't look to either side of himself, he doesn't look at the stats on the display in his vision and just runs. He needed to get through the first minute with nothing on his mind before he begins putting pressure on himself by comparing his result to others. He focuses on the track in his direct vision between the two indicators and bolts forward as fast as he can - that is his strategy, to not even use the information given to him. At these moments he is glad the speed is too big to see other runners beside or in front of him.

The minute of running at the peak of speed a human body could take is both the longest and the shortest time period. It both lasts forever and goes by too fast for it to fully register. A loud horn shakes the air, signaling the end on the first round. All runners - regardless of their place in on the track - stop and the count of full laps they've run appears on the screen. Unwillingly ChangKyun looks up as he makes his way back to the start line and the results make him freeze on spot. Last. He was currently last - one lap behind Howon.

It didn't mean he is out of the race or that he has no chance to climb higher, but it hit his moral harder than he expected. Junho is currently first, Chanhee second and Hoseok is third. One could have predicted approximately such distribution of the leaders yet ChangKyun had hoped to maybe, somehow be at the top three. Suddenly getting through the pre-elimination rounds to these finals seemed like nothing if he is last.

"What did I tell you about the scores?" Hoseok is suddenly next to him, walking alongside to the start line. A strand or two of his perfect slick-back has fallen out of the place making him look more and less distant, more like the caring mentor from their training than a competitor on the track with far more experience.

"They don't matter until the final round," ChangKyun repeats words he has heard many times before.

"Exactly," Hoseok smiles and walks straight to his place as they reach the starting blocks. The break between rounds is not big and most runners don't use it for anything more but returning to the start - to not lose the adrenaline and momentum.

As soon as ChangKyun and Howon, who was walking behind him, take their spots the countdown, this time from ten starts again and once more when the 1 disappears from the screen ChangKyun gives it his all.  Running was not his dream since childhood nor it was a family career, it was a result of a sudden inspiration during the Olympics already years ago. He attended the track and field portion with his family, as his father worked on developing several parts of the leg enhancers and there ChangKyun saw it. He saw Hoseok running.

His future came in second, which was the peak of his career at that point as he had reached such height of success at a young age. Seeing the race - as much as the human eye could catch of it - the intricate gear all put together, the joy in the runner's eyes was so impactful ChangKyun wanted to be a part of it almost desperately. And here he is now - 3 years later, running in the final of the national race.

The loud horn signals the end of round two and it stings deep in ChangKyun's chest as he sees he is just a few steps away from getting one more complete lap. He sighs and walks to the start line, the starting blocks emerging from the surface. Just a few steps - it's a painful thing to see but he could bet the scoreboard would make it even more painful. With a sigh, he looks up but his eyes go wide for a completely different reason now. Third? He was suddenly third?

Chanhee had overrun Juho by a lap, both of them battling it out for the top spot. The 4 lap gap between second and third place is impossible to close, so one of them would be the winner for sure. Howon had kept his 4th position with a steady RPM index while last, with half of the RPM comparing to the previous round is Hoseok. ChangKyun can't believe his eyes as he looks at the screen. He has time as Chanhee is on the other side of the track and will take time to get back, but no time would be enough to process what he is seeing.

"That bad, huh," Hoseok's voice speaks right next to him and ChangKyun looks right at him. "I knew I was off, but this is a new level of 'off'," the man lets out a laugh and even the two other runners at the start line look at him oddly.

"What are you doing?" ChangKyun utters through clenched teeth, trying his best not to confront his mentor, his idol, his inspiration a bit too loudly.

"Me?" Hoseok point at his chest with a mischevious look in his eyes. Chanhee steps into his place and Hoseok grins ear to ear before answering: "I'm participating in a race."

Before ChangKyun can respond to the countdown for the final lap begins and he has to take his place. The 1 disappear from the screen and he starts running as fast as the thoughts in his head. Is Hoseok doing this on purpose? Is his gear damaged? Is he planning to jump back up during the final lap? What is he planning if anything? For all those thoughts alone ChangKyun wants the final lap to last longer, but the one minute given is an unforgivably short amount of time.

The final end signal trembles in the air and everyone freezes in their spots, the crowd dead silent as they await the results to appear on the screens. ChangKyun immediately pulls off his glasses and looks up, his heart racing in his chest for many reasons. The waiting is killing him and as soon as the names and RPM appear on the screen he doesn't know what to feel anymore.

Chanhee has come first, earning his second win on this track and a national title. The boy has collapsed on the track on his knees, probably not being able to take in the result, his head hanging low as his back rises and falls in heavy breathes. Just one lap behind him is Juho, who has rushed to the side of his protege with a wide, proud smile on his face, hugging the gasping boy. Howon has consistently remained 4th and doesn't seem to be very bothered, especially after his gear had failed so many times throughout the season. The third place. Changkyun's eyes are foggy as too many emotions are going through him at the same time, but he can still see his name in front of the 3rd place result. It is still a now 5 lap gap between him and the 2nd place and just 2 laps between him and the 4th place, but his name doesn't disappear from the third slot on the screen. Which means that the last was...

"You did great," Hoseok is magically next to him again. He doesn't look upset or angry about placing 5th. His eyes, as he looks at ChangKyun, are full of pride and joy and ChangKyun is even more lost in the things he is feeling than before. He feels how the tears of joy and shock are choking him up but he still tries to speak.

"Why... Why did you... what did you do?" he half-whispers, looking at the slightly taller man. His silver and blue hair is a mess, the glasses pushed back on his head and serving as a headband. His arms crossed on his chest as he looks at ChangKyun and then at the other runners who are gathering for the medal ceremony in the center of the arena.

"I have been there plenty of times already and I can be there again if I want to," he replies quite simply but in full seriousness. "In the end, I am the one who decides whether I succeed or not. Above all - I am the one who defines success for myself," he looks back at ChangKyun. "Today success for me was not standing there but I succeeded none the less," he smiles and Changkyun can't take his eyes off the man. "Now go, get your medal," he encourages and Changkyun nods, sniffling a little as he lightly jogs to the center of the arena.

With a deep breathe he steps on the lowest of the three steps and lowers his head to accept the bronze medal that adds an odd but pleasant weight on his neck. Obviously, he still had a lot to learn. About the tricks of the sport, about the relations between a mentor and a protege and about what is success to him, not in the eyes of others. His eyes meet Hoseok's as he lifts his head and he knows he has the best teacher to learn about all of it and even more. As he is not only his mentor but his inspiration and idol.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/BeanSensei) I am always down for new Monbebe/WonKyun friends!  
>   
>  **OTHER WONKYUN**  
>  **||** [WonKyun drabbles : The Last Of The Real Ones ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13358346) **||** [The Blue Flower ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8245657) **||** [Come Back Alive](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8411509) **||** [Addiction Series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/581722) **||** [Leashes and Kisses](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7740334) **||** [Ribbons and Rings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9198269) **||** [I'm Thankful for You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8347240) **||** [Silent Appreciation](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7733332) **||** [Worth It](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9570284) **||** [Beneath The Surface](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9604883) **||** [A Little Less 16 Candles](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9810344) **||** [Mechanical Feelings series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/959832) **||** [Cat Person](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13935078) **||** [Growth](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14009844) **||** [Between Pages](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16602338) **||** [Take it Off](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16661525) **||** [A New Eternity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17013945) **||** [Just You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17309879) **||** [ Freedom of the Wind](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17894600)


End file.
